Background & Aim: Hospital infections are still one of the main causes of death. These infections may be transferred from one patient to another or through medical devices. The prevalence of hospital-acquired infection is 6%-12%. This rate increases to about 65% in some underdeveloped countries. The goal of this study was to compare the efficacy of Isopropyl alcohol and Ethanol in disinfection in pediatrics ward and neonatal intensive care unit.

Methods & Materials: In this trial, 116 specimens were collected from medical devices before and after disinfecting with Isopropyl alcohol and Ethanol. In order to assess the exact effect of these two disinfectants, some of the medical devices were exposed directly to microorganism colonies and then were disinfected using Isopropyl alcohol or Ethanol. Samples were cultured on Petri dishes.

Results: The results of cultured specimens before disinfection showed that some microorganisms such as Staphylococcus, Escherichia-Coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas, and Enterobacter were grown on medical devices. After disinfection, only two microorganisms grew (staphylococcus and Escherichia-Coli) on devices that were disinfected with Ethanol; and there were no growth on the devices that were disinfected with Isopropyl alcohol.

Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the Isopropyl Alcohol is more effective in disinfecting than the Ethanol. Since the Ethanol needs more time and specific procedures to act, it should be better to use disinfectants like Isopropyl Alcohol that acts faster and simpler.